A retrospective study of a community-based cohort in the US revealed that resting heart rate (HR) and change in heart rate over time (ΔHR) are associated with mortality and nonfatal outcomes of incident heart failure, myocardial infarction, and stroke. The study included 15 680 white and African American participants (55.2% women, mean age 54 years, and 26.9% African American) with 28 years of follow-up. Time-updated HR and ΔHR were associated with death, incident heart failure, incident myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular and noncardiovascular death compared with baseline HR. For example, a ΔHR from the preceding visit was significantly associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.12 for every 5-bpm increase in HR from the preceding visit) and time-updated HR was also significantly associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.14 for every 5-bpm higher time-updated HR). The association between ΔHR with all-cause mortality was no longer significant in participants receiving a β-blocker. These findings are consistent with previous studies and suggest that HR may be a useful and easily measured biomarker of health. Source: https://jamanetwork.com/
